cHawk

Did the Twins pull Michael Pineda one inning too soon? Yeah, no sh!t. You’d think Rocco would’ve learned from pulling Berrios in the playoffs last year. Apparently not. Was Robles the right call to start the eighth? Yeah, he’s a high leverage guy, based on his stuff (IDGAS about his 10.00 ERA last year). I would’ve let Pineda go one more and brought him out in the 9th if I were Rocco in that situation. Many are criticizing the decision to bring him out in the 8th but that is purely results-based criticism. Remember that Rocco can’t see the future. If you were going to the pen, Robles or Rogers was the right call. Both throw hard. Robles has been good in that spot so far this year. Guess who wasn’t the right call for the 9th? The guy who has been shellacked consistently (Colome). ALL of his outings (except Game 2 against Milwaukee) have been cringe-worthy. And it’s no fluke. His stuff is not good. He throws 89 MPH cutters over the plate. That’s pretty much it. He’s a guy who should be pitching in garbage time. Not meaningful time. Does a higher power hate the Minnesota Twins? They’ve lost 18 straight playoff games. That takes some serious commitment. That or some really bad luck. Who’s to blame for this? Management. Colome keeps going out there in the 9th. Why? IDK. Rogers, Duffey, Robles, and Alcala should be the closers (If they’re going for multi-closer thing, which is fine). They all throw hard. Thielbar is fine as a setup guy (NOT as a guy to stop the bleeding). Outside of those five, who do we have? Colome sucks as I already said. Brandon Waddell has not looked good. Dobnak is fools gold, always has been. Anderson? We haven’t seen him in the majors yet. Maybe he could be good? IDK.

Garver against lefties and Jeffers against righties hasn’t worked...switch it up. The catching platoon has been hot garbage offensively thus far (and not good defensively either, still pissed about Jeffers dropping that foul tip). Does Jeffers succeed vs. lefties? You might as well try, it’s not like it would hurt anything if you didn’t.

Let’s play a game. In 4.2 IP so far (SSS, but it isn’t nothing), Robles has given up one walk and one single. No ER. If you were Rocco and you were looking for which reliever to go to, and you think Robles, which would you consider more important: This year’s success (when you have data) or last year’s (with a different ball club in SoCal) failure? It’s also worth mentioning that relievers are dime a dozen. They can be power arms in one place and flaming hot trash elsewhere. When looking at relievers on the market, we don’t just look at ERA. Pitchers, as you know, are far more fixable than hitters. We look at the pitcher’s stuff. This isn’t like Sergio Romo. It was obvious what he was when we got him - a one pitch junkballer. Robles throws fastballs that average 95 MPH. Romo throws sliders that average 75 MPH. Big difference. That being said, Robles does have control issues. So a reliever with a high-velo fastball with control issues...sounds familiar (Trevor May). Robles had the tools, different coaching will make a difference in results.

Robles has had one bad outing. One. Out of six.

A win is a win. Hopefully this jump starts the team. They could actually score a run past the 6th. Granted, against 8.10 ERA Ottavino (speaking of, what happened to him, wwasn't he one of the best relievers in baseball a couple years ago?). BUT...Rocco almost cost us this one. There was no reason to pull Pineda there. None. He was at 80 pitches. He could've gone out for at least the 8th. I can't blame him for putting Robles out there, he's been one of our best relievers so far. He had a bad day and so did Rogers. (Starting to wonder if Rogers is a choking hazard). Colome out in the 9th was a disaster waiting to happen, but we got through it. But holy crap, the pen in general has been awful. Can it fix itself? Maybe. Pitchers are fixable. Moreso than hitters.

LFG!

$*

It’s a Minneapolis Miracle! (that Colome got out of that)

True but he still technically should’ve been out of the inning.

He pitched well enough to get out of the jam. Jeffers didn’t catch well enough. (Dropping a foul tip)

Haha, yeah no.

He probably bobbles the ball first.

Yep. We’re f$&@ed.

Who’s to blame for this?

TBF said washed retread has been his best reliever so far.

Based on what we’ve seen, that’s a MASSIVE understatement. It’s been HORRENDUS.

Two season, two division titles. One week, fire his @$$. Logic.

TBF Rogers should’ve struck out Verdugo, but Jeffers dropped a foul tip RIGHT INTO HIS GLOVE.

It’s official. Rocco is the Dan Quinn of the MLB.

I don’t like all of these 1-2 pitch at bats

Tf? Kepler, Sano, Astudillo, Cave at the heart of the order again?

I know everyone's talking about the BP. And it is a problem, don't get me wrong. But everything else has been awful the last few games. No offense or clutch hitting? Starters getting knocked out early, and the BP has been a disgrace. I don't believe the BP is constructed as badly as it looked. It's been fueled by terrible defense when it matters. But Falvine did not do a good job addressing it this offseason. What is wrong with Duffey? Same with Stashak? Haven't those guys been solid for us the past few years? Holy cow. The offense. It's painful to watch. No team loads up the bases and hits into DPs more. The Red Sox pitching is so bad the ORIOLES crushed it. And it's kept us to 5 runs in 3 games? What?? IDK about the SP. It's been fine. Yeah, Berrios had an ugly start today. But that happens. It's early. Let's keep this civil. Let's not attack anyone. But this team better right the ship. We were supposed to be pushing for a WS and, if the ship isn't righted, we could be competing for a top draft pick.

Mhm.

Needless to say, this is AWFUL to watch.

Right. It would make me feel better too. But Darius literally said this is a horrible baseball team confirmed.